ROB CREMONA, a Maltese national who lives in England, suffered renal failure 34 years ago. He had to move to England to receive treatment there because kidney dialysis was not available in Malta in 1976. He still lives there, with his family, and still has to go to a hospital three times a week to have his blood cleaned. He underwent renal transplant surgery three times but, each time, his body rejected the kidney. After reading last week’s article on the subject, Rob contacted Stephen Calleja to tell his story

For someone who left the islands 34 years ago, his Maltese is still impeccable and, in the e-mails we exchanged over the past week, he made a point of writing a few sentences in Maltese, probably to underscore his link with this country, a link that he still cherishes.

After reading the article on kidney failure published last week, Rob sent me his first e-mail on Sunday morning, immediately after picking up the item on this newspaper’s online edition. He immediately lauded Tony Bugeja, the nursing officer and transplant coordinator I had interviewed and who was of great assistance to Rob when the latter came to Malta – in 2007 – and needed dialysis treatment here.

“It’s great to highlight the plight of renal patients, as it is one of those long term

chronic illnesses that requires treatment three days a week, every week, every month, every year,” he told me in that first email.

His other words made me realise immediately that Rob has a great fighting spirit that is quite unusual, and therefore I encouraged him to tell me more about his experience, which could serve as an example to others who have the same condition.

He wanted to know why I have so much interest in the subject, asking me whether I was a renal patient myself or whether I have relatives who are. The answer was no to both questions. But I explained to him how the idea came about, and he agreed to write his story.

Here it is.

“My kidneys gradually began to fail in 1976 when I was 20 years old. My health began deteriorating dramatically, eventually becoming critical. Medics were baffled by my condition and treatment was unavailable in Malta.

“On 7/7/77, my parents decided to fly me to Dulwich Hospital in England. By then I was bedridden and floating in and out of consciousness. “Fortunately, I was born in London, as my father was working at University College Hospital at the time, so with my British passport I was entitled to life-saving treatment.

“For about six months I was on a life support system and not expected to survive. Being a stubborn Maltese young man, I refused to die without a fight and began CAPD (Circulatory Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis) through a tube in my abdomen. Months later, this form of treatment was eventually changed using a ‘shunt’ (plastic tubing) which was connected to veins at the base of my left leg through the process of haemodialysis using a ‘kiil’ artificial kidney for 11 hours per session, three days a week. In those early years, dialysis and transplantation were still at the experimental stage. I was only allowed out of hospital on Sundays.

“After five years on haemodialysis, I had three kidney transplants in 1981, 1983 and again in 1985. Anti-rejection drugs were very crude in those early years and even though high doses of steroids were given, transplanted kidneys did not last very long. Tissue typing had not yet been developed, so transplanted kidneys were matched by blood group alone. Most were donated from car-crash victims.

“Both dialysis and transplantation have come a long way over the last 30 years. Transplants are so much more successful due to quicker diagnosis, superior anti-rejection drugs, live donation from relatives and tissue typing.

“I have had to change careers a number of times, due to the changes in my treatment and my circumstances. As my family lived in Malta, I started on the bottom rung, working as a cleaner in a furniture shop and busking in the underground tube stations at night. Over the years I bought a car and became a taxi driver. When I had earned enough money, I bought myself musical equipment and started recording from my flat in Kew Gardens. By a stroke of good fortune, I met film producer David Putnam (who had just completed Chariots of Fire) and was given the opportunity to score 10 pieces of music for the Love Series, which was the start of a new TV station called Channel 4 TV. I enjoyed a 10-year career, recording my own compositions and playing all over the UK.

“I met my wife Diana while on holiday in Malta, and in less than nine months we were married. Twenty-five years later we have three wonderful children. Our eldest daughter is a Cambridge University graduate and now teaches in London. Our son is still at university and our youngest daughter is doing what most 16-year-olds get up to.

“Diana and I set up a Dance School, which has now grown with over 300 pupils and employing two teachers and a pianist. I joined the financial industry for 10 years in those Thatcher years of boom. After my third transplant failed, I trained as a chiropodist and ran my own clinic for seven years. Unfortunately, due to a stroke in 2002, I had to retire at the age of 45. Since then I have been in and out of hospital with several complications, mainly due to my success in having survived so long on dialysis.

“I have not had an operation for six months so I am free to play the piano at the New Victoria Theatre in Woking, where I am booked to play once a week. I also keep myself busy as the honorary treasurer of our Horsell Village Residents Association; I lecture for the NHS Expert Patients Programme and give courses on relaxation techniques for the Transplant Support Network. I had to stop other volunteer work a few years back when my life was getting too hectic, as I was involved with counselling work for the Samaritans and other organisations. My little garden keeps me busy and this year I am trying my hand at growing tomatoes. I miss Maltese food tremendously; besides tomatoes other fruit and vegetables, I would say I miss pastizzi most of all.

“I do hope dialysis patients feel encouraged to adapt to the change. Change is good, change stimulates the mind. When one stops being afraid of change, good things come. Being on dialysis does not have to be the most important part of one’s life. I treat it as a part-time job, three mornings a week; instead of getting paid, I get four hours of peace to write, read or simply drift off and dream about eating pastizzi.”

That is Rob’s story. Any more words from me would be superfluous.